Georgia Dog Bakery Article

Why go nowhere fast on a treadmill when you can get fit, trim fat and burn bonus calories on a scenic walking tour? The views are way better too. You don't need any special experience, training or complicated gear. With a good pair of walking shoes/boots and a guide, you can get a great workout while seeing the country from the ground up. By joining the growing ranks of "fitness walkers," you'll be part of the country's leading exercise trend. The National Sporting Goods Association says Americans ranked walking No. 1 among 64 sports, fitness and recreational activities in 2001.

Adventure travel companies are offering more and more tours featuring inn-to-inn or lodge-based trips -- from a walk on the wild side in Washington's Olympic Peninsula to a scenic ramble along the Maine coast, with guides to lead the way and a shuttle to schlep your luggage. A few companies even provide support vans ("sag wagons") that meet the group for lunch and offer weary walkers a lift to the next inn or lodge.

Carole Jacobs

1. Santa Barbara: America's Riviera

Type of tour Inn to inn

Ability level Moderate, with a few challenging hikes

Miles walked per day 7-9

Where in America can you find in one area a Mediterranean climate, a coastline as scenic as the Cote d'Azur and vineyards producing wines rivaling those of Europe? Lace up your boots, grab a water bottle and prepare for breathtaking strolls from the Victorian-era Upham Hotel in downtown Santa Barbara to the Ballard Inn nestled amid vineyards in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Traveling by foot is the most rewarding way to experience this Mediterranean hideaway in the heart of Southern California. Begin your walking tour by visiting the historic town of Santa Barbara, where you'll amble through Mediterranean gardens, wander down Spanish Revival courtyards and promenade along historic Stearns Wharf. Once outside of town, you'll trek the Rattlesnake Canyon trail up into the Santa Ynez Mountains, hike through the Los Padres Mountains and descend to world-class wine country. Stop off at the Firestone Vineyards for a picnic lunch and then head off to the Andrew Murray Vineyard for a wine tasting.

Details Five days, from $1,895. Departures: April 13, Sept. 28 and Oct. 12 (800-249-4620, )

2. Washington's Rain Forests and Coastlines

Type of tour Women only; inn to inn

Ability level Moderate

Miles walked per day 3-5

During the dog days of summer, there's no finer place to relax than on a carpet of moist, green moss in the cool, shady rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Just a few hours from Portland, Ore., or Seattle, you can stroll through the lush foliage of ferns and wildflowers, beneath ancient spruce, hemlock and cedar trees. A haven for hikers, the old-growth forests of Olympic National Park shelter some of the world's largest trees and harbor an amazing variety of bird and animal species -- from huge Roosevelt elk to the northern spotted owl. Leaving the giant forests behind, you'll hike toward the undeveloped coast for a glimpse of the mighty Pacific Ocean. The combination of unspoiled beaches, crashing waves and drift logs makes this dramatic coastline a beachcomber's paradise. The walking on this six-day tour is diverse and easy. Accommodations are in classic national-park lodges like Kalaloch Lake Crescent Lodge as well as Bishop Hotel, a Victorian inn in Port Angeles.

Details Seven days (the last day is a travel day), from $2,195. Departure: Sept. 2 (800-804-8686, adventure )

3. The Best of New Mexico

Type of tour Day walks from historic Southwestern-style inns and lodges

Ability level Easy to moderate

Miles walked per day 5-7

If you're eager to follow in the footsteps of artist Georgia O'Keeffe or photographer Ansel Adams, you can discover the source of their inspiration in the vibrant colors and contrasts of the deep-blue skies and red-rock canyons of the high desert. A variety of walks combine the beauty of New Mexico with the rich multicultural heritage of the Spanish, Mexican, Native American and European peoples. You will explore the Anasazi ruins at Bandelier National Monument, hike along the alpine trails of Carson National Forest high above the famed Taos ski valley and amble through the historic town plaza of our nation's oldest capital city, Santa Fe. Lodging will be in historic Southwestern-style inns like the Fechin Inn in Taos, with adobe walls, open courtyards and fine hand-carved doors and furnishings, or the Bishop Lodge, nestled in the foothills outside Santa Fe. At day's end, you'll fuel up on healthy, creative Southwestern cuisine using chilies, vegetables and sauces unique to New Mexico. Bring your credit card -- the many shops and galleries in Santa Fe and Taos sell exquisite Native American arts and crafts. Details Seven days, from $2,395. Departures: Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 (707935-0595, )

4. Lodge-to-Lodge on (Minnesota's) Superior Hiking Trail

Type of tour Women only; day walks from lodges and lakefront resorts Ability level Easy to moderate (choice of two different hikes)

Miles walked per day 3-5 or 6-9

Along the ridges of the Sawtooth Range, from Two Harbors, Minn., to the Canadian border, weaves one of the most remote, wild -- and least known -- walking trails in America: The 220-mile stretch of the Lake Superior Trail is known for its remote wilderness, diverse ecosystems and dramatic views, and is consistently rated one of the 10 best trails in America by outdoor magazines. A sleeping bag, tent and backpack are no longer de rigueur for explorers of this remote wilderness area. Join a five-day inn-to-inn tour and your luggage is ferried from place to place while you walk and picnic. You'll begin your walk at Bluefin Bay Resort, where luxury condos with saunas, hot tubs and indoor pools overlook Lake Superior, then continue on to Naniboujou Lodge, a historic (1920s) charmer listed on the National Register of Historic Places and boasting Minnesota's largest indoor native-rock fireplace. Autumn is the peak season for the most spectacular scenery, when the oranges and reds of the sugar maple compete with the bright yellows of birch and aspen. Birdwatchers and wildlife aficionados may see hawks, white-tailed deer, moose, black bears, martens, red squirrels and beavers, and, if very lucky, catch a glimpse of timber wolves.

Details Five days, from $895. Departure: Sept. 14 (877-439-4042, good )

5. Great Smoky Discovery

Type of tour Day walks from historic cottages and mountaintop lodges

Ability level Easy to moderate

Miles walked per day 4-8, with shorter and longer options

During this six-day trip, you'll enjoy national-park-caliber walks in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah National Forest from two cushy base camps: Buckhorn Inn in Gatlinsburg, Tenn. (cottages), and The Swag at Waynesville, ., a family-run mountaintop lodge. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the largest wilderness area in the East, with more than 900 miles of trails that pass through old-growth forests and rhododendron tunnels, past berry bushes and flaming azaleas, by hidden cascades and into glens carpeted in moss and lit by dappled sunlight filtering through the leafy green canopy. Rich in Native American and pioneer history, the Appalachian Highlands boast an amazing plant diversity -- from laurel to flowering dogwood -- and more than 200 different kinds of birds. These lands were the ancestral home of the Cherokee, and one day's hike leads into the Cherokee Reservation.

Details Six days, from $2,298. Departures: May 11 and 18; June 1: Sept 7 and 14 (800-464-9255, )

6. Stroll Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

Type of tour Day walks from Victorian inns and classic New England lodges

Ability level Easy to moderate

Miles walked per day 4-11, with shorter options available

When temperatures dip and leaves burst into brilliant color, nature lovers head for New England -- the epicenter of gorgeous fall foliage. Vermont boasts steepled churches, classic villages, rural landscapes and spectacular vistas unspoiled by billboards, highways or malls. With walking shoes and a fanny pack, you can tramp all day through the fragrant leaves in birch- and maple-filled woods under a canopy of radiant colors. In the evening, kick back to the sound of logs crackling in the fireplace at charming Victorian inns. The walking tour begins and ends in Stowe, a quintessential Vermont village with general stores, historic inns, quaint shops and a white-steepled church at one end of Main Street. One day you'll explore the easy trails leading to historic Trapp Family Lodge, a Nordic ski/hiking lodge founded by The Sound of Music clan, with a walk-in Austrian bakery that will make you grateful for the exercise you're getting. Guests spend the last two nights at the charming Inn on the Common, adorned with country antiques, four-poster beds and handmade quilts and located in Craftsbury Common, a storybook New England village. Stroll along the old carriage roads surrounding the town, feast on picnics and sample fresh cider.

Details Six days, from $2,098. Departures: Sept. 7,14, 21 and 28; Oct. 5 and 12 (800-GO-ACTIVE, )

7. Maine: Coastal Exploration

Type of tour Day walks from coastal Victorian inns and lodges

Ability level Beginner to moderate

Miles walked per day 2-8, with longer options available most days

Maine's rugged coastline is bigger and wilder than most people imagine. Spectacular trails wind above its craggy shores and crashing waves. Other trails wander along shallow coves, across lush meadows or meander through artists' villages and picturesque harbors. Afoot and up close, you will experience the landscapes that once inspired the 19th-century author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau. The five-day trip begins at Camden Harbour Inn, a classic Victorian inn overlooking the seaport in the quaint town of Camden, one of Maine's most picturesque and historic harbors. Walks take you from seaside and subalpine habitat to the rocky headlands of Monhegan Island, to which you ferry from the town of Boothbay on the mainland. Home base for the final two days is Boothbay Harbor, where the Spruce Point Inn, an ocean-side resort, offers the perfect starting point for exploring tidal pools, spruce forests and rocky shores. Top off your days with Maine delicacies like sweet wild-blueberry muffins.

Details Five days, from $1,998. Departures: June 8 and 22; July 6, 13 and 27; Aug. 10 and 17; Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28 (800-464-9255, )

8. Walking the (English) Cotswolds

Type of tour Women-only; lodge based; day walks from historic inns and manors

Ability level Easy to moderate

Miles walked per day 5-7, with shorter options available

What better way to experience quintessential England than to amble though the literary landscapes of Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Agatha Christie in the Cotswolds of England? After nestling in the 18th-century Painswick Palladial Manor House overlooking valleys and fields, you will stroll on well-marked trails and along ancient paths, once trod by the Romans and Celts, through picturesque rural scenery dotted with thatched cottages, resplendent gardens, country parsonages and old market towns with cross-timbered buildings and antique shops. Exploring the Cotswolds is not a wilderness adventure, so you can leave your compass and dried rations at home. Gutsy Women Travel offers a seven-day tour that begins in the hills and vales of the northern Cotswolds, around the villages of Mickleton and Chipping Campden, and finishes in the narrow lanes of the southern Cotswolds around Painswick. After a proper (huge!) English breakfast and a refreshing walk, you will stop for a hearty pub lunch with the villagers, sample the traditional puddings and even share high tea with a Cotswolds' family.

Details Eight days (first day is a travel day), from $2,550. Departures May 16, June 13, July 11, Aug. 8 and (866-IM-GUTSY, gutsywomentravel com). Additional women-only walking tours are offered in France, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

Marybeth Bond is a Northern California-based travel writer, author and editor of five women's travel books published by Travelers' Tales, including A Woman's World: True Stories of Life on the Road (1995) and Gutsy Women: More Travel Tips and Wisdom for the Road (2001). Visit her Web site at women traveltips,com.

Additional research for this story was provided by Shape intern Megan Stremick.